Leadfoot Automotive

they’re still awesome

I recently took over ownership of my elderly mother’s classic 94 Camry. Nobody could find any paperwork on its service records, but she remembered she had it serviced at LeadFoot Automotive.
I managed to find them online and sent an e-​mail inquiring about the service record, and was pleasantly surprised to find a reply with PDFs of recent service the following morning, along with a friendly message that they remembered my mom and liked her.
While I don’t have any direct experience with them, she was clearly happy with their service, the car is in remarkably good shape for its age (even allowing for very low mileage), and the rates on invoices don’t seem out-​of-​line.
And their helpfulness in digging up invoices dating back 3 and 5 years — knowing I have my own mechanic — speaks for itself.

If I could give a lower score I would. This man helped me out of a situation in which my truck need to be rescued & we agreed on a price and he had my pink slip. I owed a bit more after paying him back but like I said he had my pink slip. My daughter had a 2003 Mini Cooper with only 47,000 miles and he offered to hold it at the lot until I finished moving he instead put a lien on it and sold it after making repairs that were not requested. I’m sure he just wanted the car himself. But I’d rather he had taken the car we ha the agreement on. It was dirty and underhanded and although I used to think he was reputable I guess everyone has their seedy side. Interestingly enough I had paid $ 1200 for repairs to my truck for its $ 100,000 mile check up and he did only what he deemed necessary and not what I’d asked or the scheduled maintenance the dealership suggested.

I’ve been taking my cars to leadfoot for the past 10 years and they have always done a great job. George and Charles are very attentive, quick, know their stuff, and their pricing is extremely reasonable. I would highly recommend these guys to fix your car. One other thing, they are really down to earth and nice guys.

When you talk about transmissions, Charles is the person to speak to. I had a BMW 323i that had a reverse drum issue. Charles explained how these cars main problem was just that. Had the tranny repaired with no additional cost in my end with a 12 month warranty or 12,000 miles whichever would come first attached to it. The original quote that was given was the final price that I had to pay. Price was comparable to the other shops if not lower. What made the difference was that they offered a loaner car since I was having a major repair done at their shop (This impressed me!) The service was so good that I even had the water pump replaced at this shop as well. They are trusted when it comes to auto repair! A Father and Son combo that runs a reputable business. WAY TO GO LEADFOOT AUTOMOTIVE!

Mannnnnn! These guys are GURRREATTTT!!! I just recently got my vehicle majorly overhauled (I don’t know if this the correct lango to you car enthusiasts and professionals… but you get it!). I had major issues with my vehicle. To the point of salvage and due to my strapped-​for-​cash issue *thanks economy* I had family attempt to fix my vehicle. My cousin, THE MECHANIC, or so I thought. Anyhow, the vehicle sat in they’re drive way for 9 months, worse off rather than better. The original issue: it started overheating, and eventually burned almost everything that was something under that hood. Water pump, heads, engine harness and I *was told* the valves were all bent. Also, I would probably need a new engine. This was not the case– not entirely– and, thanks to Leadfoot for the REAL diagnosis. The only thing my cousin was doing was sucking my cash and coming up with every excuse under the roof to keep me paying his bills. JERK. Anyhow, I called a few places, checked out Unilocal!reviewers, networked w/​friends and family, and this place was mentioned quite a few times. It’s really hard to trust people with your valuables, and I can’t say I didn’t feel that way at first dropping my car off here, but something about talking to Charles and his dad just won me over instantly versus any other place I got an estimate from (I shopped two other places). And, they kept up being honest, reliable and just straight awesome the whole time my car was there. It is now running beautifully and she’s back on the road purring!!! GOOD JOB MEN!!! And a BIG THANK YOU! This isn’t the last you have seen of me =)
Oh, I want to add, they are quite understanding and just human, too… they know why!
DEFINITELY BRING YOUR CAR HERE FOLKS– YOU’LL BE GLAD YOU EVER DID!

The best all around automotive experience I’ve had in a long time. Price, work and customer service was top notch.

Not any cheaper than any other place but still fair and a more honest mechanic you will not find.

I had them fix my slave and master cylinder which was leaking on my Eclipse (manual transmission) back in 2008 or so. When I got the car back the clutch was adjusted wrong. The clutch would slip really bad under medium throttle. Brought it back in the next day to have them re-​adjust it again. Although it wasn’t slipping anymore, I don’t think it was quite adjusted right still since another mechanic which didn’t work on my clutch at all told me it felt like the clutch was dragging (pedal down and the car creeps). Nice guys, but maybe they don’t have much experience with adjusting clutches on Mitsubishi Eclipses.

I had a major repair that needed to be done (Mercedes transmission) well anyone who knows these cars knows that this can cost $ 8000 – 10,000 at the dealer, and even independent transmission shops want $ 4−5k to rebuild it. I called shops all over the bay area and Leadfoot had the best price. Now my car has high miles and I didnt want to invest in a rebuilt transmission, and wanted to go the cheaper route by buying a used transmission from a wrecked Mercedes and having someone install it. Again, Leadfoot had the best price by far, and was more than willing to install my customer supplied parts, which is something many repair shops will not do because they dont want to be responsible if the parts dont work. Fortunately the used parts did work, Charles at leadfoot got my Mercedes running like a champ again and I hope to get many more miles out of this transmission. Leadfoots bill was HUNDREDS cheaper than any of the quotes I got from other shops. I am about 40 miles away and had never used them before, but it was worth having my car towed there (thanks AAA and free 100 mile towing) and going to pick it up. I think they even advertise a free loaner car too if you need it. Try them out, they are good guys. I also spoke several times with Charles’ dad, George, and he was always very friendly and personable.

Chuck worked on two of my vehicles.
One came back costing $ 400 more than the estimate even though the work was exactly as estimated.
The other spent a great deal of time with Chuck, went in with a working motor… they say they had it running, which is odd since I specifically asked to be present when they fired it up, which did not happen. They then claimed the motor was previously blown… I sucked it up and replaced the motor on my dime — they even charged for the R&R on the motor! Finally had the car towed back to me with electrical and vacuum lines not connected or improperly connected. Leaking brake lines. No main belt. Intake leak. Motor mount not bolted down. Stainless steel fuel lines rubbing on electrical wiring. Throttle position sensor not properly connected. The car is a basket case with many, many thousands of dollars invested in Chuck’s time.
A true disappointment. And after all this they actually asked for *more* money and never offered the slightest apology over the matter. One of my worst experiences ever with a vendor of any sort.

Fantastic family run business. George and Charles are excellent mechanics, and their auto repair reminds me when I was growing up, when families took all their cars to the same mechanic, year after year.
I trust then entirely, and they have always been very fair.
I wish I could give more stars, having peace of mind that you are not getting ripped off in addition to their great family style customer service is priceless.
Thanks Leadfoot for the many years of great service!!!
— Ed and Kathy

Good prices, mostly helpful guys. I haven’t done a ton of business with these guys, but what I have has been good-​bordering-​on-​great.